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Emotional Health Minute: Don’t allow worry to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Emotional Health MinuteThe problem with worry, if allowed to consume you, can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Think about it.  Worry/fear/anxiety tends to encourage more worry/fear/anxiety.  For example, if you are leading your life believing, “something bad will happen,” you are looking through a lens that is primed to focus on the negative.  You will be looking for any shred of evidence to support this notion and when it happens it will serve to reinforce your story.  You will end up looking for trouble and invariably finding it.

This is what you can do:  Try noticing the positive.  Try focusing and taking in things that go right in your world.  At the end of the day, consider what’s gone well.  Let that settle in.  Ponder it for a good 30 seconds (neuroscience has demonstrated that this amount of time is needed to fully integrate the experience).

Re-training your mind to take in the good.  Baby steps are great…begin by making the choice to move in a new direction.  Also consider doing family of origin work if you have unresolved experiences impacting your progress.

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Lisa Brookes Kift, MFT
Lisa Brookes Kift, MFT has a private practice in Marin County (Larkspur), CA., working with individuals and couples in-office or via tele-health for those in California. Lisa is also the creator of LoveAndLifeToolbox.com with articles and tools in support of emotional health and relationships. A frequent media consultant, she has appeared online in CNN, HuffingtonPost, Shape, Men’s Health and others. She lives in Mill Valley, California, loves nature, travel and is an avid tennis player.